Little League Baseball

My children will not be committing to a baseball team that requires 5-6 days of intense training/competition.

The #1 reason kids quit sports is because it stops being fun. This usually happens by age 13, with children often turning to video games, where they feel they can isolate from coaching, critiques and outside pressure.

If we truly want our children to be physically active and mentally healthy their entire lives (and not quit baseball - which they love), we would not set them up for failure in this way... no matter what "everyone else is doing".

I would also like to highlight that this leaves 1-2 nights for family time and rest.  If you have one child or ten, this means you only have one night a week for family time and one night a week for a date/personal night - if you are lucky enough to also have a sitter or free help from family and friends (and aren’t a divorced/blended family).  

This means there is no rest day or self-care happening.  This will lead to burnout in parenting, marriages and all of us as individuals.

“Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.”

Children and parents need to be taken better care of by our society and it won’t happen unless change starts somewhere.  

Ideally, The Little League should set a normal practice schedule, start a mental health campaign to raise awareness and set the new standard for how to treat ourselves.

Trust me, the world would love it and if nothing else, everyone in our world would feel loved and that is so important.

Can you imagine the children and parents that would pour in... along with the donations from mental health advocates and athletes?!  

"Welcome to Mama Mel’s Little League!  The place you're safe to go swimming, eat s'mores AND play ball all year long!"

In peace and with love, 

Melanie Richardson

P.S.  Healthy lifestyles in the real world naturally overflows into children having healthy boundaries with technology.